Number: 2523
Proto-Semitic: *ṣVp(p)Vr-
Meaning: (kind of small) bird
Ugaritic: ṣpr 'pájaro' [DLU 420]. Not very reliable, only in klb ṣpr 'perros perdigueros' (1.14 III 19). Alternatively to be interpreted as 'sheep-dogs' (ṣpr compared to common Aramaic *ṣǝpīr 'goat', v. [KB 1964] for concrete forms).
Phoenician: ṣpr 'bird' [T 280], 'fowl' [Krah. 240]. In the Punic offering tariff from Marseilles (KAI 69/15): bkl zbḥ ʔš yzbḥ dl mḳnʔ ʔm dl ṣpr 'for every kind of victim slaughtered by owner of cattle or owner of a bird' (also in the damaged l. 11 of the same text: [bṣ]pr ʔgnn 'for a kind of domestic bird'). According to Tomback, here also belong ṣyprm ʔrrm 'сalling birds' in Trip. 76/6:7 (cf. also [HJ 973]). The divine name ršp ṣprm in KAI 26A II 10-11 presents special problems. While [KAI II 86], [T 280] and [HJ 973] interpret ṣprm as 'birds', the meaning 'goat' is defended as the only possible one in [Gibson 60] in view of (DEUS)CERVUS in the Luwian part of the bilingue (but cf. [Bron 185] and [Krah. 450]: 'a form of the god Rasap; meaning obscure').
Hebrew: ṣippōr (pl. ṣippŏrīm, < *ṣuppur-) 'bird, winged creature' [KB 1047], pB. [Ja. 1295]. A general term for 'bird' (together with ʕōp) extensively discussed in [TWAT VI 1102ff.]. Possibly denoted both a single bird (as in Am 3.5: hătippōl ṣippōr ʕal-paḥ hāʔāräṣ 'will a bird fall into a trap on the earth') and birds in general (ṣippōr šāmayim 'birds of the sky', ṣippōr kānāp 'winged birds'). It is possible that in some passages ṣ. denotes a concrete species of small bird (e.g. sparrow).
Aramaic: D.-Alla ṣpr 'special bird, sparrow' [HJ 973]. In I.9, context fragmentary (see [Hackett 49]). Off. ṣnpr 'bird' [HJ 973]. In Aḥiq 98 (ky ṣnpr hy mlh 'since a word is a bird'), see [PY XLIX], [Kott. 228] (also on other - damaged - passages). Sam. ṣpwr, ṣpyr, ṣprh 'bird' [Tal 742].
Biblical Aramaic: ṣippǝrīn (pl.) 'bird' [KB 1770]. In Da 4.9,11,18 (birds on the tree in Nebuchadnezzar's vision) and Da 4.30 (ṭiprōhī kǝṣippǝrīn 'his claws like [those of] birds).
Judaic Aramaic: ṣippar, ṣippǝrā, ṣippōr, ṣippōrā 'fowl, bird' [Ja. 1298], ṣippartā 'fowl, esp. a small bird' [ibid 1299], ṣypr 'bird' [Sok. 463], ṣyprh (det. ṣyprth) 'bird' [ibid. 464].
Syrian Aramaic: ṣeppǝrā 'avis' [Brock. 635], 'avis, passer' [PS 3433].
Mandaic Aramaic: ṣipra (st. abs. ṣapir, ṣipar) 'small bird, sparrow' [DM 394], ṣiprurita 'small bird' [ibid.].
Arabic: ṣāfir- 'espèce de petit oiseau de la famille des passereaux; tout oiseau qui n'est pas oiseau de proie' [BK 1 1346], [LA IV 464].
Jibbali: (e)ṣferót (ṣefirót) 'Vogel' [Bittner 60] (not in [JJ]).
Harsusi: ṣ̌eferot 'sandpiper' [JH 124].
Soqotri: *ṣafiroh (in ṣafiróte) 'oiseau' [LS 70].
Notes: Akk. ṣibāru 'a bird, probably the sparrow' OB on [CAD ṣ 155], [AHw. 1097] is often compared to the present root in spite of the irregular -b-. Cf. also Amh č̣äräba, č̣oräba 'a small, brown, grain-eating bird; sparrow' [K 2216] (related to the Akk. term with metathesis?). Cf. Syr. ṣprd 'genus aviculae' [Brock. 636] and Arb. ṣifrid-, ṣufrud- 'rossignol' [BK 1 1347], [LA III 256] (if related, -d is puzzling). Akk. iṣṣūru 'bird' OB on [CAD i 210-14], [AHw. 390] and Ugr. ʕṣr 'pájaro, ave (esp. ave de corral)' [DLU 91], /ʕuṣṣūru/ [Huehn. 162] are not related to the present root as rightly pointed out in cf. MSL 8/2 145 (pace [AHw. 390] and many others). The Akk. and Ugr. forms could be united under a separate PS root *ʕVṣṣūr- 'bird' but the evidence for such a reconstruction is too scarce (cf., however, Tgr. č̣ǝnraʕ, č̣ǝrnaʕ 'a bird, Buphaga erytrorhynchus' [LH 627], Tna. č̣ǝrnaʕ 'uccello piu grande del tordo col becco rosso molto forte; esso e il flagello delle bestie, perche straccia le loro piaghe, o gliene fa forandole col becco (Bufaga erryttrorincha)' [Bass. 933], possibly related with metathesis). Arb. ʕuṣfūr- 'passerau; tout petit oiseau; sauterelle' [BK 2 272-3], [LA IV 581], Jib. ʕɛṣférɔ́t 'bird' [JJ 16], Soq. ʔiṣféroh 'oiseau' [LS 70] (with ʔ- instead of ʕ-) should not be directly compared to the present root but rather be regarded as a result of its contamination with forms of the *ʕVsṣūr-type treated above. [Fron. 295]: *ʔiṣpūr- '(piccolo) uccello' (Arb., Syr., Hbr., Ugr. /ʕṣr/, Akk. /iṣṣūru/); [Firmage 1154]: Akk. (ṣibāru), Hbr., Arm., Arb. (ʕuṣfūr-); [KB 1047]: Hbr., Pho., Arm., Akk. (ṣibāru), Arb. (ʕuṣfūr-), Ugr. (ʕṣr, with a remark "also comparable"; note that Akk. iṣṣūru is treated as unrelated); [DLU 420]: Ugr. (ṣpr), Hbr., Pho., Arm., Arb. (ʕuṣfūr-); [ibid. 91]: Ugr. (ʕṣr), Akk., Arb. (ʕuṣfūr-), "relación incierta con hb. ṣippōr etc."; [Brock. 635]: Syr., Arm., Hbr., Arb. (ʕuṣfūr-), Akk. (iṣṣūru); [LS 70]: Soq., Jib., Arb. (ṣāfir-, ʕuṣfūr-), Hbr., Akk. (iṣṣūru).
